Sadly, more than fifty percent of all marriages in the United States are destined to end in a divorce. Whether the divorce is amicable, or if the former spouses end up fighting for the rest of their lives, these are terribly high statistics! Unfortunately, divorce statistics in many other developed societies are nearly as high as those in the United States. These statistics would lead one to believe that we’re living in the sort of society that condones marriages that can simply be thrown away.
In many places and in various levels of society, marriage seems to have become a relationship that is much more casual than the traditional, strong partnerships seen in the past. Despite traditional vows taken during marriage ceremonies, including the common vow of “til’ death do we part,” divorce statistics have soared.
Professions Prone to Divorce
This is particularly true of people who live within public view – it seems as though movie and TV stars, entertainers of all kinds, and professional athletes from various nations suffer from very high divorce rates.
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Police officers suffer from high divorce rates as well. In the United States, law enforcement is one of the professions that live with the results of the highest rates of divorce – and for many reasons. Women are attracted to officers because they’re manly – they have a badge and a gun – and they are very attractive in uniform. Sadly, officers are prone to cheating and so are their wives, who often spend long periods of time alone while their hero of a husband is out taking care of the public interest. In addition, many police officers have a fairly negative outlook on life, thanks to the fact they must often deal with the darker side of human nature. Sometimes, partners of police officers feel they have no option but to leave.
A Lack of Commitment
First marriages in the US suffer from about a fifty percent divorce rate, while Russian statistics are almost as high. In Canada, Australia, Denmark, the UK, and New Zealand, the divorce statistics are similar for first marriages. In addition, we’ve seen that nearly two thirds of second marriages dissolve, and an astonishing number approaching three quarters of third marriages end in divorce in all these countries.
These divorce statistics make us wonder: what could have happened to cause people to break the vows they pledged during their marriage ceremonies? Why do people choose divorce, rather than making the effort to resolve differences?
Besides divorce statistics, a lack of firm commitment seems to be marked by the number of couples who choose civil unions rather than marriage. While these people often have children and do share a committed life, civil union is just not the same as marriage. In addition, we see that many women from less privileged backgrounds tend to have children with various men. This breakdown of the traditional family as the pillar of domestic life is both cause and result of the lack of commitment – both problems feed upon each other.
A Lack of Faith
One other cause of high divorce statistics is that fewer people have deep-seated religious belief. This lack of faith has contributed to a reduction in the number of people who take their marriage vows seriously. Little or no religious belief in an omnipotent deity causes vows taken “In the presence of God and the company of Man” to have very little inherent meaning.
Conversely, people who hold strong beliefs or who practice a religion faithfully, have greater respect for their marriage vows and divorce statistics for these people are much lower than those with little to no religious faith.
Children and Divorce Statistics
Couples who have children divorce nearly forty percent less frequently than those who are childless. While this is encouraging, there are still plenty of parents who divorce. Naturally, this causes quite a bit of concern – what message are parents who decide to part ways sending to their children?
The statistics are staggering. More than a third of children today come from broken homes, and among those, the average age for a first divorce is thirty. So, many children today are raised in homes with only a single parent present, during the formative years when the influence of both parents is crucial. It seems as though the cycle will continue, unless people find ways to solve their differences.
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While some say we could revert to an ape-like way of being, in which males and females mate at will and all members of the troupe are equally responsible for the formation of the young apes, it seems as though working toward the betterment of marriage would be much more productive.
Meanwhile, the high divorce rates and various forms of lack of respect for marital vows is one of the saddest commentaries on the state of modern life in so many societies.


